Sporting a new logo and rebranding, Buskerud Construction, Inc., celebrated its 50th anniversary with more than simply an employee gathering.

The Dell Rapids-based company, which is now BX Civil & Construction, Inc., brought about 90 employees together Saturday night at the Old 77 Ballroom to not only mark the milestone in the company’s timeline, but also to announce to employees the new company title and brand.

Company president Kari Karst said rebranding and renaming the company was important to the staff at Buskerud.

“We’ve got great employees, and we want to be able to attract the right employees,” she said, adding that the new direction is key to the company’s strategic plan, including human resources, marketing, operations and finance, unifying all aspects to “assure the company exists for another 50 years.”

The party Saturday was a way to include the employees on the change prior to going public. “We are making this about our employees first,” Karst said.

The event Nov. 10 included a meal, speeches, multimedia presentations and skits.

As far as the company’s new name, Karst said that the goal was to represent the legacy of Buskerud Construction while selecting a title that better explains what the business does.

“We’ve always wanted to honor the history of the Buskerud name,” she said, noting that the “B” represents the original company name, while the “X” represents the inclusion of excellence in the company’s long-standing value statement. “It kind of raises the bar for us that we always live up to our standard.”

The initial inclusion, whose planning began as early as March, takes on a double meaning for Karst, who said “BX” serves as a reminder for employees and management alike to always “be excellent.”

As part of the reveal at the event Saturday, one of Buskerud’s trucks had been redesigned with the new logo to present to those gathered, and attendees were given shirts representing the company change. The logo incorporates Buskerud’s black, white and green motif, a decision management hopes signals the unification of past, present and future.

The celebration also included an in-house video featuring “The Faces of Buskerud,” a company that includes 50-70 employees on average. Les Cummings, a longtime member of the South Dakota National Guard and a Buskerud vendor, served as emcee.

Employees who’d reached milestones, including some at 40 and 45 years of service, also received awards at the 50th anniversary.

Buskerud Construction was started by its namesake family in the 1950s, while the official incorporation came in 1962. Orville Buskerud’s ownership of the company was passed through family members until the business was sold to Sweetman Construction of Sioux Falls in 1982.

Harold Skatvold then took leadership of the company for the 10 years it was a subsidiary of Sweetman, after which Karst, whose father had worked for both Buskerud and Sweetman, bought the company in 1992.

The current president was working as a civil engineer in California at the time and thought the position would be a good fit. She said she was blessed to work with Skatvold.

“He was a continuing influence in the company and somebody that was a mentor for me,” Karst said.

As far as the future of BX Civil & Construction, Karst said that the initial shock of a name change is worth the long-term goals.

“There are points where it’s kind of scary,” she said. “We just had to, as a team, rally and say, ‘Why are we doing this?’ I think that very quickly that will just become who we are.”

Living up to the standard of the company’s ongoing mission and values, to be professional, innovative, safe, trustworthy, collaborative and excellent, is vital for the BX president. “We really just want to stand up to that. It raises the bar for us. We have 50 years of a great reputation in the industry.”